Saturday morning, amidst an unseasonable drizzle and fog, we left Nairobi with some new friends of ours - Jason and Krista Wendle, their son Jonah and our driver Alfred - for a two hour drive out to the Rift Valley. The view from the escarpment was washed out. It felt like we were in a cloud! But after descending it cleared and we made it to Hell's Gate national park to see zebra, giraffe, warthogs, gazelle and other fun critters. After a great picnic of Italian salami, sharp cheddar, crackers, yogurt, etc., we headed for a hike through the main gorge area.
The narrow canyon was a mini wonderland of florescent algae filled hot springs, glassy black obsidian stones and undulating rock walls. The whole hike down the gorge - probably a mile or so - was lined with waterfalls and pools of various heat levels. Some tepid, others barely touchable. One, as Nadia said, was 'the perfect temperature for dishwashing.'
We then went to our fun 'tented camp' at the Crater Lake Lodge. It's a gorgeous private location, very peaceful with tons of birds - including a few flamingos - and colobus monkeys. Nadia went on a quick night game drive and saw everything from hippos to an African kangaroo, which of course is not really a kangaroo but some sort of hopping hare. The next day (and not very early because Theo was up half the night), we went on a game drive in Crater Lake's private reserve and saw herds buffalo, elan, giraffe, gazelle, and zebra along with hippos, baboons, and a ton of brightly colored birds.
It was a great trip!
